Kidnappers offer Fox journalists for jailed Muslims

Mystery militant group might not be Palestinian

Ibrahim Barzak, The Associated Press

Updated
10:00 pm PDT, Wednesday, August 23, 2006

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- An unknown militant group demanded the release of Muslim prisoners in U.S. jails within 72 hours in exchange for two kidnapped Fox News journalists, who were shown in a video released Wednesday sitting cross-legged and barefoot on the floor.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces backed by tanks and helicopter gunships crossed into the Gaza Strip early today in a raid that captured a local Hamas militant leader and left his brother dead near a Gaza border town, Palestinians witnesses and officials said.

Hamas officials identified the captured man as Younis Abu Daka, a local Hamas leader. His brother, Yousef, was killed in the fighting, the militant group said. The army confirmed that a senior Hamas operative was arrested, and at least one militant was killed. It did not identify the men.

The video released Wednesday broke 10 days of silence from the journalists' kidnappers and marked the first time militants in Gaza have issued demands going beyond the conflict with Israel. The footage also had none of the trappings of locally produced videos, such as flags or masked gunmen, raising the possibility that foreign extremists may have taken root in Gaza.

Palestinian and Israeli officials say al-Qaida has been trying to infiltrate Gaza in the aftermath of Israel's withdrawal a year ago. The Egyptian-Gazan border is now rife with smuggling tunnels, and Palestinian militant groups have blown up a border wall to allow people in and out of the area.

In the footage, American correspondent Steve Centanni, 60, of Washington, D.C., and cameraman Olaf Wiig, 36, of New Zealand appealed for help in getting released.

The images of the men sitting in a drab room were the first sign of the journalists since they were abducted Aug. 14 from their TV van in Gaza City.

"Our captors are treating us well," Centanni said.

In a statement attached to the video, a group calling itself the Holy Jihad Brigades railed against the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and characterized them as a war against Islam. It made no demands of Israel.

Local militant groups routinely try to limit the conflict to a fight between Palestinians and Israel, fearing they could otherwise cause a backlash against the Palestinian cause. Major militant groups, including the ruling Hamas movement, have all condemned the kidnapping and called for the journalists' release.

Militants with ties to Hamas have been involved in kidnappings in the past, including the June 25 abduction of an Israeli soldier, aimed at winning the release of Palestinians from Israeli jails.